I have an MBA and I was looking for a basic reference book that would cover some of the information that I had learned. This book does not cover two of the most basic concepts that every student learns during their MBA program: NPV & IRR (net present value and internal rate of return)

I recommend "the complete idiot's guide to MBA basics." That book covers more of the calculations that one learns during an MBA program.

Another thing to note: the above-mentioned books should only be used as a quick reference book. If you really need to understand a concept, then you need to find a subject matter book for that topic. For example, there is no way to truly understand the 5 p's of marketing by reading 3 to 5 pages. You need to grab a marketing textbook and read couple of chapters that cover the 5 p's of marketing. Then, you can use "idiots" or "dummies" books as a reference guide.

I find that there are some good points to be made within the book, but the overall rating is only about a 3.5 (I gave them the benefit of doubt with the 4 stars)

The only truly good information came in at the sales and marketing, but I have yet to see the idea of the customer is the boss in any business course (I have three degrees in business related fields). And I have never seen any manager or executive with this philosophy. Even here in the book I think they could have done this simple idea more justice.

I also have to say that I have read about 20 of the "For Dummies" books, and this one is in the bottom few for quality.

I suspect that trying to jam everything you ever wanted to know about business but were afraid to ask is a difficult task, even when you've been given 400 or so pages to complete your task. One thing I know for sure, the authors of The Complete MBA for Dummies have done a far better job completing this task than any other business book I've ever read (and I've read a LOT of business books!). Kathleen Allen and Peter Economy really know their stuff, and it shows loud and clear on every page of this extremely well-written and comprehensive book. While the tone is humorous (fun, actually), it never veers onto the thin ice of sillyness that plagues other books of this type.

If it's covered in a typical MBA program, you'll find the topic you're looking for here: dealing with change, information technology, global business, strategic planning, management, leadership, motivating employees, recruiting and retaining high quality employees, building teams, accounting, finance, marketing, negotiation and much, much more. Lots more interesting (and up to date) than any textbook you'd ever buy in an MBA program, and far less cost. This book packs a heck of a bang for the 16 or 17 bucks you'll pay to buy it.

Highly recommended.

I did not like it. It is a bad story. Wolfs are not bad like in the story. Peter doesnt listen to his grandpa, so it is a bad example.

If you are familiar with the Prokofiev symphony, this book makes a good companion to the music. It puts into visual images the story of Peter and the Wolf. What I like most about the book is that, in the end, the duck lives. The ending varies somewhat depending on the version of the recording or book. In this book, it's a happy ending, which is better for younger readers.

We use the book by itself sometimes. Other times, my child will read along while we listen to the symphony.

Our children, 3 year old twins, love the music of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. In searching for an age appropriate book to show them the musical instruments that play each of the characters, we found this one illustrated by Ian Beck. Not only are the illustrations lovely, the colors and clothing of Peter, the hunters and the grandfather are interesting to a child. Also, each page shows the instrument played for that part of the story (find it in the box around the text), and in the back a page illustrates each instrument. We cannot recommend this lovely book enough to parents of young children discovering the beauty of music!

Peter Allen certainly loved Uganda. He spent over 30 years there, first as a policeman when the country was still a British Protectorate, then as a law lecturer, magistrate and judge after Uganda had gained independence.

His diaries of his days as a policeman are interesting - his experiences ranged from his ADC role to the Governor in the pillared residence at Entebbe to his days working in remote Karamoja, policing warring tribesmen and cattle thieves.

The more intiguing part of the book, however, relates to his years working in the judiciary under the Idi Amin government. As Uganda degenerates into a melee of government-sanctioned murder and lawlessness, Allen's diaries record his own efforts to extract at least individual instances of judicial order and discipline from the chaos enveloping him.

Clearly, the Ugandans thought of him as a bit of an oddball - ironic bearing in mind the insanity of the behaviour of many of those in Amin's regime - and his reputation as "the only white man left" no doubt excluded him from the vicious tribal politics of the time and helped in his unlikely ascent through the Judiciary.

But should the reader feel a little uneasy at Allen's readiness to carry on regardless - however corrupt and tyrannical the behaviour of the authorities that paid and promoted him? Yes, he showed no sycophancy to Amin or his governmental colleagues - his lambasting of the government in his diary and his frequent references to the civil but cold way in which he would converse with Amin and his henchmen make that clear. But he still attended their jamborees and drove their Mercedes. Yes, as he often points out, he believed strongly in the role of the judiciary in serving as a brake on the authority of executive government. But in Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s, these rules were not applying. And yes, he clearly felt that to leave the country in its time of need would be to desert the Ugandans he loved. But did he not love just a little the power, prestige and sheer idiosyncracy that rested in being an oddball English judge in a banana republic? After all, as the title of his book records, these were "Interesting Times".

Perhaps this view is too harsh. Atfer all, the easiest thing would have been to wash his hands of it all and walk away. Interestingly, he never really discusses this dilemma in his diaries. In the end he was given little choice. He left Uganda in 1986, devastated at having to depart the country he so clearly loved.

Like his earlier book about his experiences in Uganda (Days of Judgement), Sir Peter Allen's latest offering is a very well written account of Uganda's most critical era.

The diary format takes one to the scene and moment, as his life (and Uganda's story) progress from the blissful days of a British Protectorate, through the horrors of Amin's rule to the anarchy of the post-Amin period.

For anyone interested in Uganda, this is an essential document. It is the record of the experiences and observations of a man who was intimately involved with the story, yet one who was relatively detached from the political and military fighting that held the country in its grip throughout the entire period that he lived there.

I must say, however, that there is something rather unsettling about the authenticity of the good judge's entries. One gets a nagging feeling that some parts of the diaries have been edited in hindsight, so that many of his "predictions" might have been penciled in many years after they had in fact come to pass.

Of course he might have been an excellent forecaster, but he gets so many predictions correct that one just wonders. But then again, who knows.

Also there are some entries that are definitely on the wrong dates. For example he claims that President Milton Obote visited Kings College, Budo in 1968, and asked the Headmaster to stay on for another year. In fact the year was 1969, a fact I know because I was there.

Notwithstanding these minor quibbles, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, especially his entries during the colonial and early post-colnial years. His sense of humour comes through.

MKM

I found this book captivating. I particularly enjoyed the (almost) daily accounting of events - short and to the point There were several funny moments - such as when Sir Peter fell into a sack of flour and the episode where a witness at a trial was unsure of his age! His parents had told him many years ago that he was twenty and so he insisted that he was still twenty (15 or so years later).

I could feel the many bumpy rides over almost non existant roads and could almost taste the dust and feel the heat as he travelled to the many districts for which he was responsible. Yet these hardships seemed to be joyful for him as he made so many friends and encountered many wild experiences (like being shot at)!

The rise to power of Idi Amin is well captured and the brutality of the times is frightening.

Sir Peter's home was broken into many times and on occasion by his own servants and his life was threatened on numerous ocassions.

I enjoyed reading about his leaves to Britain and his conference trip to Montreal as I have also lived in both places and it made the book come alive.

I think the flavour of Uganda and perhaps most of Africa is well documented. It is not for the faint of heart. It certainly made me realize how well off we are in Canada where we take so much for granted. Health and Education for instance. What a struggle the Africans have - still - to enjoy what we assume is our right.

It was interesting to travel through Sir Peter's career and it was sad that he had to leave the country and the many good friends he had made. He obviosly loved them and their country.

As the editorial says it is a first course introduction to Quantum Physics book. It is not a narrative book about Quantum Physics, it has Mathematical formulas and problems as well as some practical applications yet you do not need to know more than a good calculus to understand what is goung on. It starts with Schrodinger's equation and shows few applications and solutions and than Quantum Physical practical applications such as lasers etc. Although it is relatively easy to follow the book, a lot of logical steps and physical foundations of Quantum Physics are introduces as set of postulates without any hint of reasons for it. Unless you know those things from other sources it is not easy to catch those that authors have between the lines. I recommend it as an easy work book but not necessairly the one that takes you from Classical Physics and leads into Quantum Physics. The book fails to show the short comings of the Classical Physics and efforts of Quantum Physics to respond to problems. Suddenly we have the Schrodinger's equations and solves all your problems just like that.

It is very concise, easy reading and clear. It is valuable for any student just touching the quantum physics

This book is full of short stories written by Beatrix Potter. I enjoyed reading the book very much. The stories were always adventurous. However, I found that the stories might be a little to lengthy for children to sit through (unless it is time for bed). The author of these stories is telling children that even though getting into mischief is fun at the time, it is not the best choice to make. Especially in the case of Peter Rabbit when his siblings get to eat gooseberries and milk and he has to eat beet stew because he is sick from getting into trouble. This shows children that there is a price for getting into trouble.

This excellent collection of five Beatrix Potter stories has obviously been replaced with the larger collection read by Claire Bloom, "Tales by Beatrix Potter." My school library owns the title viewed here, but we will undoubtedly upgrade to the newer collection whenever it's available in CD. Listening to Beatrix Potter in Bloom's crystal clear British accent is THE way to hear these delightful, and classic, stories!

Peter Larkin is a real lover of old time Burlesque. He's lovingly researched the old sketches, and updated them making them more accessable for a modern audience. He's done a wonderful job, and this volume is a great resource. Between the sketches and Mr. Larkin's excellent notes the reader really gets to see what this lost form of entertainment was all about.

This book is a concise one. Easy to read for us novice. Handbooks like these are a must. Let's now try it all out and have a blast. With these safty tips you'll do fine and have a great time. Happy reading!

I read the book and I think it is great. I really need to get ahold of the authors, particularly Mr. Bucky. I have a family friend that knows Mr. Bucky and I would like to get the book signed. I borrowed it and never returned it so that he could get it done himself. Somebody please help me.

Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election is a workmanlike and emotionless recollection of the events surrounding the most controversial election of the past 100 years. It is a well organized, easy to follow and not visibly biased view of the relevant events leading up to and following the November 7 Presidential election. Seemingly accurate and double checked to a fault, reading this book left me with the impression that I had just read an excellent 275 page newspaper article and not much more. With almost no humor, lacking any sidebar comments, it is a book Joe Friday would be proud to call his own. While I am a Texan and Bush supporter, I much preferred Jake Tapper's Down & Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. I guess this means that like most people, when push comes to shove, I'd rather be entertained than informed. I do regret this intellectual weakness and like some of the votes in Florida I may change. But probably not in the next 36 days.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

I personally think the Washington Post and NY Times are liberal rags that are generally not worth the paper they are printed on. However, in fairness, when they do well I think they should be commended. I read the NY Times "36 Days" and still think that book was not worth the paper it was printed on. It was nothing more than a reprint of their articles.

Conversely, though, Deadlock was a well-written book. Two passages are worth noting. The first is about the book itself. About one-third of the way into the first chapter the book says: "These are the ... decisions, alliances, power plays, snap judgments and personality flaws revealed when a flukishly close election is played out for staggering high stakes. Both sides were nimble and brilliant and occasionally shady; both sides were also capable of miscalculations, divisions and blame. The best and worst of politics were on displayed in those 36 days, and both sides trafficked in each. This is how it happened." Although the Post endorsed Al Gore (no surprise) they tried to be equal in their appraisal of how the two campaigns sought resolution in their favor.

As for the two sides' strategy one only has to look within the first three pages of Chapter 2 where the Post records that the Democrats enlisted the services of three authors who wrote "The Recount Primer". The book reads: "Anyone who read and heeded the booklet could predict how the two sides would play America's closest president election -- at least in the broad outlines. Gore would gamble; Bush would stall. Gore would preach a doctrine of uncounted ballots; Bush would extol the dependability of machines. Gore needed more: more counting, more examination, more weighing and pondering of more ballots. Bush needed it over while he was still ahead." The only trouble for the Gore forces with this gospel was that the Republicans knew the same gospel. The book attempted to show how the two sides played out the roles assigned them.

For a behind the scenes objective look at the two sides, I think the Post did a very decent job. This could have been a... job on the Republicans and conservatives, but generally it was not (though I expected it). It could have been a... job on the Democrats and liberals, but it was not (nor did I expect it). I am not accustomed to this degree of fairness from the liberal Washington Post nor do I expect to see it very often in the future.

When one first approaches this book, one can't help but be drawn in by Ginsberg's knowing smile. His life experiences, loves, and tragedies can all be summed up within this book. However, the many monumental poems in this book("Things I Will Not Do", etc.) are spaced apart with lymerics, catchy tunes, and mostly toilet humor. When both reading about Ginsberg, and reviewing his earlier work, a person feels a sense of awe and wonder. A person begins to look upon the world with new eyes. However, I felt a little let down after reading this one. I just felt most of the poems to be far too juvenile, and this really detracts from the over all concept, and sentimentality of the book. I'd really consider this a "half-n'-half" book. Half was good, and half was not. If anyone is looking into this book for a first look into Ginsberg, I strongly advise you read his earlier stuff first.

Ginsberg happens to be the father of the beat generation, a generation that many dismiss. Ginsberg comes to understand death in the pages of political tongue lashing's and calling them out like a showdown at the "OK". Buy this book and understand a dying man's dream of innocent fame.
.....

I recommend this title to anyone who enjoys good poetry. There is something extremely "real" about Ginsberg, always has been, and he shows that realness in these last few poems before he died. "Things I Will Not Do," which was the last poem he wrote before dying, brings a tear to my eye almost every time I think about it. We could all hope to approach our ends with the kind of dignity that Ginsberg seems to have.